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■issue #2■
░░▒▒▒▓▓▓▓Preface▓▓▓▓▒▒▒░░
Metamorphisis (met.a.mawr'.fa.sis) n. A change in form or structure;
evolution.
MeTaMorPHiSis is a group started by a small group of individuals
who saw it nessesary to change the silly power structures in our BBS
neighborhood. With the world opening up and data flow through nets becomeing
increasingly common, why do we need the exclusive 'elite attitude minded'
boards? These boards and their sysops have segragated the 'warez scene' for
quite sometime. But we at META are going to change all that, we will force
evolution in our our, however small, way. We are looking for medium to large
established boards to upload 0-3 day warez, that is it. MeTaMorPHiSis just
simply askes that if you get a META ware couriored by our group, pass it on
to someone or a board that doesnt have ready access to that current of
pirated software. Our couriors are asked to work and communicate closely
with our distribution site sysops to maintain our no 'arrogent elite
attitude' policy. We will continually provide very current and new pirated
software directly from our suppliers on the Internet in exchange for you
passing the word and warez on about META. With that I present our very own
newsletter, the METAzine issue #2.
THE MASK
-Senior Staff
Dark Forces PREVIEW
Dark Forces by LucasArts, WILL blow all the other 3-D games away.
I can say this, after playing the playable demo. The engine is smoother,
and at a higher res than DOOM!!! Hard to beleive, but it's true. Also,
you can sector on top of sector, unlike Doom. Also, you can look WAY up,
or WAY down(a feature now in some other games). NOtice how all the doors
in Doom open vertically? Well, in DF, the can open horizantally. There
are even doors that are like wrap-around doors. Very awesome indeed.
The floor/wall/ceiling textures are non-reptitive too. The graphics of
the sprites are very well-done. Stormtroopers and the other guys are nicely
animated, and they shout things to you in PERFECT voice, like "hold it right
there rebel scum!", or "there he is. Get him!". The music is 100% Star Wars.
It's non-reptitive, just like the textures. Also, LA thru in some textured
polygon ships, that BLOW away the ones in TIE Fighter! I could go on, and on
about all the details. And this is only after playing the first level! Get
it when you see it.
-Lord 13
Rise of the Triad Special look
I got mixed feelings about Apogee's Rise of the Triad(shareware version
- although I am sure it'll be the same with the reg. version). This game
is a 90 degree hell. Don't expect rounded walls, or REAL stairs. You get
round discs for stairs, which are sprites. They look cool, but for stairs
it's pretty lame. Sometimes there's a moving disc you can get on. And this
is the silliest feature yet I think - there are trampolines, so there's alot
of jumping. Great! A 3-D Super Mario Bros with guns, and overdone gore!
The gore is kinda cool. When you blow a guy away with a rocket, it's guts,
and eyeballs go everywhere. Sorta neat. Your foes though, are just boring.
Who likes killing humans nowadays(unless it's another player)? I like
making Cacodemons cry in pain. I like splattering those red demons in Heretic.
What's with this Triad gang crap? Also, the game doesn't have TRUE multi-level
worlds. You get these sprite floors to jump up on. Cool. The game is OK,
but with Heretic and Descent as competition, it's already over. This game
has so much bark, so little bite. Also, have you seen all the codes for this
game yet? There's a TON. It seems they spent more time on codes, than on
the actuall game. Well, let's hope 3-D Realms does better.
- Lord 13
3D studio 4 (YES!!)
There are many new features included in this release. A few of which include
Inverse Kinematics, a new camera prevue control, projector spotlights, and a
whole slew(yes I just did say slew) of cool new toys.
For many years you could only find Inverse Kinematics (IK for short) in higher
end animation packages running on Silicon Graphics machines. What IK allows
you to do is define a joint where two objects meet, set the limits of what
the joints can do before moving up the hierarchaly linked chain. For example
in all the previous releases of 3ds when you wanted to move an arm, you would
have to grab and rotate the shoulder(the rest of the arm would still be
straight) grab the upper arm, move it, grab the forearm, move it, grab the
hand, move it. A real pain in thee butt! Now with R4 you can simply grab the
hand and put it in the desired spot and the rest of the arm(even the torso
depending on how far behind the body you move the hand) will position itself
naturally according to the joint parameters. Makes things a whole lot easier.
Another handy new feature Autodesk has included is a camera prevue in the 3d
editor and in the keyframer. This speeds things up considerably when trying
to see how something is going to look once rendered. You activate the prevue
feature by selecting the camera viewport(if one is active) and go to the pull
down menu and select prevue(yeah I know I'm spelling it wrong but that's how
it's spelled in the program) and viola! you'll have a rendered image in the
viewport. BUT WAIT THERE"S MORE!!!! you can now take the camera and move it
around and get nearly a realtime response! the camera can rotate around the
model and you'll see every angle rendered. No more of dealing with those long
rendering waits only to find your geometry is flawed! This can also be done
in the keyframer activating it the same way. You can get a preview of the
flic you're working on with nearly no wait. This helps to avoid object collis
ion or jerky movements or any problems you might run into. This thing is
GREAT!!!!
The final feature that will be discussed is the projector spotlights. With
these you can finally "fake" a raytraced image. For example shining light
through a stained glass window, it's a bit more complex than this but I'll
give you a basic rundown. First a window would be made, you would select an
image to map onto the pane of glass, create a projector spotlight and pick
the map you used for the pane of glass as the image for the light to project.
Be sure to exclude the frame of the window from the spotlight or else it'll
look kind of funky.
3D studio has always been the leader in animation on the Pc platform. So far
95 promises to be great year for 3d studio with even more companies developing
Ipas routines and plug-ins. Companies like Xaos tools, Kai's power tools and
a whole host of others! In the next issue we'll be taking a look at some of
these routines and how they can be used. Hmm perhaps we should have a little
"how to" section? lat3r d00ds thanx for reading!
/\/\
\ /orpheus
The Best of and Worst of '94
Here's a look at the best and worst warez of '94, as compiled by
Area 51 voting. Sorry if there's not alot of catagories.
The Best Game of '94
The best game of '94 is id Software's Doom 2. By mid-summer, every
pirate was waiting impatiently for it. Everyone was thinking we'd see it
in like late September. It was a BIG surprise when we were all playing it
by Aug. 31st! While not really a new game, Doom 2 gave more of what people
liked, with new monsters, and a cool double-barrel shotgun.
Runner-up: TIE Fighter and Magic Carpet(a tie)
The Best Flight Sim of '94
Flight sims are getting very good as of late, pushing your CPU to
work harder than ever. TIE Fighter was the best though. Even though, it's
not a true flight sim. It wasn't even close in this catagory.
Runner-up: 1942: Pacific Air War
The Best Strategy Game of '94
There were a TON of great games like this. Many from MircoProse, like
the co-winner, X-Com. The other co-winner is Warcraft. This coulda been a
3 way tie...
Runner-up: Master of Magic
The Most Overhyped Game of '94
This is very weird. The best game of the year, is also the most
hyped game! Some people thought that there should have been alot more to
Doom 2.
Runner-up: Rise of the Triad
The Worst Game of '94
Operation Bodycount wins this award, easily. This game, with it's
Wolf 3-D engine, was a sure winner in this catagory. Capstone made it, and
you gotta wonder if they have ever played or heard of Doom.
Runner-up: Battle Bugs
░░▒▒▒▓▓▓▓The Warez Review▓▓▓▓▒▒▒░░
Descent (shareware version)
Well the first thing was the Interplay logo.. WOW.. Big fat
harry deal.. Then came the title screen.. Nothing really worth
mentioning.. but the Music that it was accompanied by was
actually quite good.. Not that Annoying MIDI in the .WAD files
you get for DOOM.. It was pretty nice music.. SO I was thinking
at this point Maybe I found a game at least equal to DOOM.. Well
I proceeded to not do anything but hit NEW GAME.. (I did see a
multiplayer option so that was a plus for me right there) It
popped me into a cinema sceen where I was sitting across a desk
from some guy in the shadows.. (This was kinda wierd) and I was
briefed on my mission.. (Okay not a big deal but I felt it worth
mentioning) Then I was pretty much tossed into the shit pile..
Now.. Not looking at any documentation I was a little confused on
the controls to say the least but after a few moments I managed
to gain control.. Now this is when the game really showed
itself.. I was basically flying a spacecraft into a mine that was
infested with war machines that fly.. Hmm.. THink of flying a F-
16 thru a cave setup blasting enemies.. If you have ever played
or seen Sewer Shark on Sega CD.. THat close but you have total
control not that annoying fuck GHOST in the back.. SO before I
got to far I pulled out and configured my Joystick and the
keyboard and restarted.. Now being a Flight Simulator Veteran for
many years the steering came real easy to me.. I basically
started strolling around the mine to see what I could find.. Not
when the first few enemies popped up I noticed something.. They
were actually 3-d objects.. Not a series of Sprites like
DOOM/WOLF3d/ROTT/HERETIC are.. Full three dimensional Objects to
blast.. (Not new to Flight sims but to games like this YES) Now
after testing out my Laser Cannon and Concusion Missle.. I was
pretty impressed with the Enemies Artificial Intelligents.. They
appear to have multiple personalities for them. Some when you
shoot will just sit there and take it a little and toos there own
back at you.. other will hide behind walls pop out and fire..
Others upon seeing you will setup a ambush when you enter another
corridor.. THat was impressive.. But then I started chasing them
around and found the levels to be Fully three dimensional.. What
I mean by this is you can be on on top of another section . plus
the hallways didn't always go left or right.. THey curved up
gradually straight down etc.. SO I hit the TAB key to see a fully
3d picture of the level like Autocad would come up with that you
could spin on the three main accesses.. This was cool.. I drove
to a door opened it then had to proceed down for a ways into a
huge open area filled with nasties.. GOD was this cool.. Using
skills fine tuned in Falcon 3.0 Dog Fighting.. I found my self
quite well versed in the combat of the game.. But I made one bad
decision.. Jumping into 20 to 1 odds isn't real smart.. As I
reappeared after been given a good pasting by those things.. I
was even more determined.. I decided to go about it a different
way.. THis time I faired better.. But remember when I said they
would set up an ambush.. well it worked.. Well I quit out and
said, lets read the docs.. (Yes they do help.. Play first then
read them in my opinion)
Well.. The Game is a full 6 axis engine that no other
company I know of has... Id is planning one in Quake.. Apogee I
don't know what projects along those lines they have coming up..
Possibly 3d Realms will put something out similar but I don't
know of one officially.. The game play was fast and furious at
the hardest Skill level (Of course) but its also quite nice at
the lower skills for the rookies.. The Docs are Okay.. but for a
game like this they can only tell you the tools.. Its your job to
figure out how to use them.. Graphics were quite good.. Hmm.. I
would campare it to DOOM but the graphics are on a finer scale
then anything released by iD or Apogee.. Think of the Cinematic
screen of Start Trek.. Music was quite good throughout the game
but I turned it down a little so I could here the nasties
coming.. The game is pretty easy to learn how to use and do well
but actually getting good at it.. Thats a different story.. You
can beat the level but playing a human opponent is really
interesting to say the least.. The Shareware is about 3 meg in
Length and can be grabbed at the Meta sites.. All in all it was a
excellent game experience.. I can't wait till later to go after
them again.. 8/10.
- Soul Master
Heretic (Registered version)
Heretic was made by Raven software, for id Software. It uses a slightly
modified Doom engine. This revamped engine sports true transperancies, and
a cool look up/down feature, which is really helpful. Some other cool features
are when you run in the water, it looks like your in it, rather than on it
like in Doom. A cool splash sound accompanies this. Also, when you run on
lava, flames come up. What is really cool is to shoot a flying creature over
the water or lava. ALL the sounds in this game rock. The tunes are ALOT
better than the ones in Doom. Each tune is long, and varied. The new
textures are also very colorful. Some monsters you'll face are flying demons
(that shoot fireballs in the later levels), mummy guys(which can shoot flaming
skulls), flying sorcerers(that can go invisible), skeleton knights(shoots magic
axes), and some other ones. The levels look nicer than Doom's and
are long and alot more enjoyable than Dooms. But, deathmatch in this game
is a true blast. With the morph ovum, you can change the other guy(or the
monsters) into a chicken! Then they'll have to use their beak! Really quite
funny. You can also get the batwings, which will make you fly, or the power-
tome, which will double your weapons effectiveness - AWESOME! And you can store
these in your inventory for when you really need them. HIt [ or ] to bring
up your little inventory box, and use [ and ] to select what you want, then hit
enter to ready it, then enter a last time to use it. This is a very good game,
that Doom fans shouldn't miss. But, this is actually better than Doom. Don't
listen to those saying it the same thing. 9/10.
- Lord 13
░░▒▒▒▓▓▓▓Warez News▓▓▓▓▒▒▒░░
In MICROPROSE news...
MicroProse, the maker of the BEST strategy games, such as
Master of Magic, X-Com, Master of Orion, Colonization, Civalization, etc,
etc, has announced that they are working on MASTER OF ORION DELUXE! This
version is shaping up to be much more than a souped-up MOO. Elements of the
game will be much deeper. And the best part, modem/network play!!! Finnally!
As of now, this will be a CD-only product. Destined to be a winner. Also,
the sequel to the best strategy game of '94, X-Com, is nearly completion!
It will be called, X-COM: TERROR FROM THE DEEP. It seems that aliens are in
the oceans. All new aliens, and the ability to mutate your own will be
features in this awesome sequel.
In BULLFROG news...
Dungeon Keep, a new game from BF, will use a enhanced version
of the Magic Carpet engine. That's all that's known about it as of now.
Sounds like a winner already.
In APOGEE news...
Apogee(apology?) has recently announced they have a new sub
company - 3-D Realms. Apogee(gay name) said that it's time for a co.
dedicated to 3-D games. I wonder if they have ever heard of id software?
At any rate, they will release RUINS(built around Doom engine...aliens and
pyramids), Blood(same, but in a Stephan King setting...satanic),
Shadow Warrior(virtua fighter type thing....like Quake?...maybe..), and
Duke Nukem 3-D(another Doom rip-off). Maybe they will get the modem play
thing down...they really F^CKED up with ROTT's modem play. Lamers...
In ID news...
According to id, Quake won't be running in a DOS enviroment
until several months. Right now it's running in NextStep, the OS of the
discontinued Next PC. We should see Quake in SOME form in the Spring.
Warez schedule:
ROTT reg. anytime
Descent reg. "
Dark Forces feb/mar
░░▒▒▒▓▓▓▓META Fan/Hatemail▓▓▓▓▒▒▒░░
This section is where we'll print letters we have gotten concerning
META. We'll print them all, good and bad. Here's the first one. I think its
a good one to start it off with too. As this person had no clue as to what
I was talking about. He thought that I said we SELL subcriptions!
(continued)
L1>
L1> Do you use the internet? If so, then this could very well happen. Email
L1> the mask about it. He's the boss of Meta.
L1>
LO> Oh, and I forgot.. Being a site for you doesn't mean that I call up the exa
LO> same place the mask gets the files offa the internet and download them for
LO> myself.. I already do that.. being a part of your groups means that you fin
LO> some way to courier them to me, and then I spread them to people around the
LO> area, Meta gets known in another place, and some other people pick it up, a
LO> starts spreading
L1> I know what it means...we would cart them to you thru the internet...it's
L1> quick, and FREE with your subscription...
L1>
LO> Excuse me?.. Subscription?!... Forget the entire thing if you think you are
LO> going to charge me to be a distro site for you... that is one of the MAJOR
LO> reasons why the elite scene has gone downhill over the years, and I don't
LO> think I am going to contribute to it in that way.. plus I have better thing
LO> to spend money on then being a distro site for some group
Read what I said more closely...Subcription to the Internet....we don't
charge a thing. Forget it if your gonna get smart.
Lord 13
editor: this guy thought he'd tell us how to run stuff, then went off the
handle. We don't charge SHIT for a board to be a site. Never will.
There was more mail, but I didn't capture it in time, so it got deleted. More
next month. If you got ANY questions/commments/threats/bribes/propositions,
contact me, Lord 13, or The Mask, at Area 51.
■META Boards■
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If you thought you were a site, and you are not on here, that means
something got messed up. Contact a senoir member to see what's going on.